The board members do not want the meeting to go on for too long, yet they may stray. The chair is responsible for assisting them in remaining focused on the order of business and completing their critical responsibilities.
As a Chairman, how do you end a board meeting?
This page describes why a meeting could be called to a conclusion, how to conclude the meeting, and the most common language used by chairmen to terminate the meeting. Continue reading to learn more about how to manage productive board meetings.
Who is in charge of calling the meeting to a close?
The chair is in charge of both opening and closing the board meeting. The chair’s responsibility is to oversee the whole event, from the welcome directors to the numerous agenda items to the adjournment.
The chair or another director may request that the meeting be adjourned early in specific circumstances. This might be because of an emergency, a disruptive member, a medical condition, or any other reason that makes it unwise to proceed. However, depending on your meeting regulations, this only works in specific instances.
If you’re utilizing Robert’s Rules of Order, for example, the chair or a director can move to adjourn the meeting, but only if there’s an immediate threat. When there is no imminent danger to life, the motion must be seconded, and the board must vote unanimously to adjourn without debate. Only if there is a life-threatening situation can the board chair make a unilateral decision.
Reasons for a Meeting’s Termination
There are two basic causes for the conclusion of a board meeting:
1. You’ve covered everything on the agenda
After the board has reviewed and voted on all planned issues, received financial reports and committee reports, and considered motions and recommendations, the meeting may be adjourned. At the end of the meeting, there is a chance for any further business, and once the chair has dealt with any feedback from this – either allowing a discussion or pledging to add it to the next meeting agenda – the board meeting can be adjourned.
2. You’ve reached the end of your time limit
Board members have busy lives, typically with a second full-time job and other board commitments, so they value their time. When you set a time limit for a board meeting, it’s only fair to keep to it. It not only shows respect for the board’s time, but it also stops the meeting from dragging on too long and the board from becoming disengaged from the issues at hand.
These two reasons for quitting a conference should, in theory, coincide. A successful chair will be able to create an agenda that meets the time constraints and will be able to guide the discussion to keep the momentum continuing so that it concludes on time.
3. A quorum cannot be established
When there is no quorum, you may be compelled to adjourn the meeting if it is required by national law or if it is part of the company’s articles of organization and bylaws. In the United Kingdom, for example, if the requisite quorum is not present, the meeting must be adjourned and rescheduled for another day.
Talk about the last item on the to-do list.
Inquire whether there is any further business.